Ukraine war briefing: Trump accuses Zelenskyy of not wanting to end war as feud rumbles on

Trump defends decision to waive some sanctions on Russia; Lithuania foils attack on Starlink site; Kyiv hits another oil terminal. What we know on day 1,699

Donald Trump has defended his decision to waive some sanctions on Russia, while once again accusing Volodymyr Zelenskyy of not wanting to end the war. “My decision on Russia is a very simple one. I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table,” the US president wrote on Truth Social. “Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him … he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did,” he added. Trump’s remarks come after he signed an executive order on Friday putting on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy.

Earlier on Sunday, Zelenskyy had thanked the Trump administration for resuming intelligence sharing between the two countries, but maintained the US had intentionally throttled its Starlink satellite internet access to send a “message” to Kyiv, write Andrew Roth and Sam Jones.

Lithuania said Russia was likely behind an attempted arson attack on a company hosting communication hardware for Starlink satellites. Prime minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius made the claim on broadcaster LRT after authorities discovered flammable liquids at the company in question. Sinkevicius said the firm, whose location he did not mention, houses “nine satellite antennas to guarantee the Starlink connection, which of course supports and assists Ukraine”. He added: “It is obvious this is part of the hybrid war being waged by Russia, involving acts of sabotage.”

In September, a satellite station belonging to the network located in central Poland was set ablaze with Warsaw claiming sabotage. In Bulgaria, an investigation is under way amid claims that antennas linked to the Starlink satellite network were set on fire.

Shipping Russian diesel to the US market will take 15 to 20 days once contracts are signed, a senior Russian official said on Sunday, though a date for signing has yet to be announced. Trump announced the controversial agreement with Moscow last week, seen as a way to try to lower fuel prices for American consumers ahead of crucial midterm elections. “Negotiations are currently under way regarding the commercial terms – that is, on finalisation of the contracts,” Russian deputy prime minister for energy Alexander Novak said in an interview with state media. “Once the contracts are signed, the fuel will reach the markets – in this case, the US markets – within 15 to 20 days.”

Ukrainian strikes set an oil export terminal and a depot ablaze in St Petersburg on Sunday as Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in one of its largest aerial attacks of the war. One person was killed and five others were wounded in the attack, which sparked fires at the Petersburg oil terminal and the city’s Ruchi oil depot, officials said. A logistics centre belonging to Russian retailer Ozon and a datacentre operated by Russian tech company VK were also targeted, the companies confirmed. Russia’s defence ministry said Sunday that its forces had destroyed 1,015 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions, the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the Black Sea.

A ⁠Russian air ⁠strike ⁠killed one person ​and injured ⁠two in Kyiv ‌overnight, mayor Vitali ‌Klitschko said on Telegram early on ‌Monday. A medical facility ​and a non-residential ⁠building were damaged ​in the ​attack, ​he ​said.

A suspected ⁠drone exploded over Lithuania after triggering an alert that forced residents in northern and central areas to seek shelter for an hour on Sunday, officials said. Ukraine’s foreign ​ministry said later it regretted the incident in Lithuania’s airspace, adding that it may have resulted from Russian electronic warfare diverting drones off course. The object flew ⁠into Lithuania’s airspace from Poland, Lithuanian defence minister Robertas Kaunas told reporters.

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